Goblins

Hey there, I've been testing a lot in the last days and I find myself pretty happy with the vial build I am playing (the R/W one)

But I found myself losing to an infect deck playing the 2/2 knight pro red (sorry I forgot the name). A little question I have is Stingscourger able to bounce him? Is it a trigger ability or is the creature targeting it? I'm sorry if that is a stupid question but I am pretty bad with the ruling

If there are any questions about my list, i will do my best to answer them

I'd have to see your sideboard in order to get a complete idea of your list, it seems like the typical list that has been circling around as of late. I have to agree with you on the fact that you shouldn't cut bolt or grenade. However, i believe one of them should be cut. If you feel you have bolt in there for the soul purpose of creature removal you are getting away from the basis of the deck. Grenade i can understand because its a key win condition, but bolt not so much. It's entirely a meta call in my opinion. I have cut grenade and started doing my testing with bolt and an addition of mogg fanatic, so far the results are varied. I have to continue testing later this week when i have time off work.

Hey there, I've been testing a lot in the last days and I find myself pretty happy with the vial build I am playing (the R/W one)

But I found myself losing to an infect deck playing the 2/2 knight pro red (sorry I forgot the name). A little question I have is Stingscourger able to bounce him? Is it a trigger ability or is the creature targeting it? I'm sorry if that is a stupid question but I am pretty bad with the ruling

Stingscourger text reads as follows, When Stingscourger enters the battlefield, return target creature an opponent controls to its owner's hand. So unfortunately, when it enters play, it targets a creature, and that's a no Makes me a sad panda. Phyrexian Crusader, is a pain i'm afraid not a lot we could do about it but attempt to out race them.

I couldnt cut bolt because there are just too many things i have to get out of the way to make good attacks. Annoying things like deathrite shamans sometimes tempo me because of that odd 2 toughness it has.

I cut one grenade, if the bolts get in my way more than become a boon i can keep cutting it till i get to the right amount

I'm new to the magic community and have built myself a goblin deck.I have so far won quite a few casual games because it has potential to kill fast and has a few win situations.However, would apprieciate some input from you folks

So far 19 lands have been the near perfect amount of mana i could have in this deck.Before this i had 4 each of Krenko's Command and Dragon Fodder but i find myself
mulliganing more than i should.After removing 1 of each and replacing it with 2 lands, the lands i draw seems to be much better.I also find that i very rarely need to use Krenko, Mob boss unless its a protracted right,last i was battling a soul sister's deck and won because i was churning out tokens and with all the other synergies like goblin chieftan, legion loyalist and wardriver i managed to stave off the opponent's creatures and grind him down.However, when i do play against my friends RDW,control, or white/green deck, i rarely find myself using Krenko, Mob Boss because the games doesn't last that long.

Usually, after i lay down my first land , either goblin guide, arsonist (More damage for goblin grenades) or Legion Loyalist comes into play.
Afterwhich i'll use Dragons fodder,krenko's command or goblin wardriver to synergize with legion loyalists for its effects and then finally lay down goblin chieftans or hellraiser goblins (which i would lay down first if it was the only 3 mana cost in my hand, if no then goblin chieftan goes down first). So far it has proved a fast hitting deck,albeit very susceptible to board clearers.

As you can see, i lack a sideboard as well and have been doing some research, however even with the descriptions from the primer, i find it hard to choose the most optimal cards for this deck.

If my could could make an improvement, it would be really great and i would very much like to hear your input. My first FNM is this friday and am looking very much forward to it

I ended with 3-4.
Win against: Mono white control, some deck that is very popular in Holland (WGr), WGr (from the same team)
lost: Doran Junk, Hideaway, RDW, BG zombies

Cards I liked:
Wort is very nice, fear, a good body and a nice effect... really gives the deck an edge.
krenko instantly wins when he can tap.
Rakdos charm: most important reason for the black options and cheap :).
Blasphemous act: this card just rules against everything that overextends or plays to many fatties: just go all in with an attack, whipe en vial in a wort to restart. won me 2 games (and I only saw him 2 times).

Cards I Disliked:
Warren wierding: to slow and always on the wrong moment, probably move them to the side against emrakul decks. Terminate will replace it maindeck.
Foundry street denizen: for some reason he just wasn't what I wanted him to be, not really that good in my build will become a Bushwacker or maybe a lightning bolt
Shatterstorm: Didn't see any affinity, will become dismember.
Bloodmoon: not really that good in modern I have the feeling (against the deck I want it for --> tron). Is a problem in my deck because I can't fetch to black. and don't want a swamp in my deck (to much double red). --> alternative = fulminator mage
King: didn't find him when needed or got killed as soon as he landed. Don't know what tot do with him.
stingscouger: didn't see him, might be becomming the warren wierding.

Overall: didn't see much combo, so couldn't test my deck against that. I practiced against POD and got about 50-50 preboard.
Got landflooded most of the day, But the games I got to play decently I really owned. Except against RDW where I could have killed him every time but he was just one turn faster (turn 3-4...) the one that started won the game...

Big question in my list is to include the black goblin that makes my other goblins cheaper (forgot it's name for a sec).

First of all I think your primer is amazing! Go Goblins for moving to the established section!

Second - IMHO this is a meta game choice as well as a play-style choice. Sure, the mono red fast paced version of this deck is receiving some much needed attention right now (as it should), but how many people are actually testing Aether Vial with Lead the Stampede? It seems that because of the recent printing of boros charm, Skullcrack, and "extort" (such as on the card Blind Obedience) you might be playing in a burn-heavy meta. Which type of build is going to be better in your average burn matchup? I would put my money on the deck with better card advantage (LtS). Also, if you would like to reference it - I have been testing Modern goblins for a while with the following build as my most recent. People need to know that R/G Vial+LtS is a viable option (as you kind of hint at in the primer).

Those who try it might find this deck less matchup dependent, better at recovering, and that it plays similar to a legacy goblin deck swinging in for the whole 20 at once (with the random T4 kill still possible but not consistent).

** Rootbound Crag and a couple mountains should be switched out for 4-6x Fetches and 2-4x Stomping Ground in a meta with less burn than mine (TY Franx).

This is by no means a comprehensive explanation of this style of deck, more of a spoiler for an alternate style of modern goblin deck that I have had some limited success with.

On a side note - some people might argue that Warren Instigator is worth keeping around because of its DS ability, with the lackey-effect being an added bonus (especially in combination with Legion Loyalist for trample).

I used to love goblins back when onslaught still was extended legal. I like how your list is looking and will try it for now. You miscalculated the number of creatures and still have two slots left. I filled them with Stingscourger to have something to impact the board a bit. Also adjusted the manabase to
1 forest
1 stomping ground
1 pendelhaven
8 fetch
4 cavern of souls
7 mountain

Issues I have with the list is that it's very low on removal. Really miss the gempalms :

I used to love goblins back when onslaught still was extended legal. I like how your list is looking and will try it for now. You miscalculated the number of creatures and still have two slots left. I filled them with Stingscourger to have something to impact the board a bit. Also adjusted the manabase to
1 forest
1 stomping ground
1 pendelhaven
8 fetch
4 cavern of souls
7 mountain

Issues I have with the list is that it's very low on removal. Really miss the gempalms :

Whoops! Yeah when I posted that it was very late at night and I did it from memory. I like the Stingscourgers in that spot as well as 2x Goblin Grenade. For now I will edit it and add the Stingscourgers off of your suggestion. I used to run Foundry Street Denizen in that slot, but I have since removed it - it is not optimal in this build. I think your mana base is optimal (although I might run 6x fetch instead of 8x) for Stampede hits and consistency and would use something more like that in a meta with less burn than mine - I simply cannot afford to pay the life for fetches and shocks in many of my local matchups... I also did a lot of reading on the whole "fetches and thinning" thing and came to the conclusion that longevity is more valuable than an extra card no and then for this deck. Also, keep in mind that if you use any fetches that search for forests that you will be forced to get a shock most of the time and take 2 to the dome.

Pendelhaven... If this works the way I think it does, then you won't be using the ability often because of lord effects. I would cut it if this is the case for another dual land or mountain.

This deck is low on removal, but it makes up for it with big attacks that usually don't care about blockers (Legion Loyalist, Lords, Krenko, a sea of tokens...). Also, the 4 goblin grenades in the SB can be used as removal or DD in a deck you might be racing. You can also use that spot for lightning bolts if you need them. Another option for building this sideboard is filling it with non-creature spells and siding out LtS against creature-heavy decks. I have tried this and it works quite nicely. I go with the current version because it seems a bit more streamlined to me.

The singleton Foundry Street Denizen is there 'cause I couldn't get a forth Guide. I also wanted to play 3-4 Cavern of Souls but they're expensive for me now.

The sideboard is a bit obnoxious 'cause it diminishes the explosiveness of the deck, but I'm liking it. I've just beat RG Tron after stealing a Wurmcoil with Mark of Mutiny.

Shattering Blow is awesome to get rid of Wurmcoils, Blinkmoth/Inkmoth Nexus and Darksteel Citadel. This improves the Affinity MU a lot compared to Smash to Smithereens - a card I couldn't find on the bots I usually get cards (!).

Skullcrack is there for Soul Sisters, which I imagine is a nightmare MU (still not faced it). I'm willing to replace it with Sulfur Elemental though.

Pithing Needle is a catchall for things I can't really deal with, like Karn. But I think you just replace'em with more Mark of Mutiny.

Faerie Macabre is my graveyard hate of choice. It's either Faerie or Tormod's Crypt as I really don't want to spend mana and turns not casting Goblins. Faerie is way better vs Eggs too.

Couple more games played, I believe Goblin Assault is definitely needed on the SB for the UWR matchup. They pack a lot of removal (4 Bolts, 4 Helixes, 4 Paths, some more sweepers) and I could only win with Goblin Assault (and Guttural Response :)).

I could have included some anti lifegain type stuff- meta dependent, basically, ditto spellskite for boggle etc.

In this type of build- mid speed- I want to be able to cast my goblins, especially pseudo spell ones like ruinblaster or bushwhacker. Cavern allows me to do just that.

This type of build also has a lot of must answer goblins- seige gang on its own, krenko etc. I really can't afford to play with them and have them remanded, so again 4 caverns become essential.

I have also included man lands as a result of the fact that I am not trying to be rdw- and although fast kills are possible I really want as many options as possible post board wipers. First strike is rather nifty in red too, hence encampment. The mutavaults are a concession to etched champions as much as anything, and I waver between 2 and 3. I do not feel they are essential. But having played this deck a bit, and even a boros human tribal deck I can vouch for the quality of cavern of souls in the format at present. I am an aethervial/d and t player at heart, and so appreciate the power of uncounterability. And in tribal decks this card shines like no other against the urw aggro control and straight control decks as well as uw resto angel decks and even scapeshift and other combo decks that use remand.

So the Dragon's Maze spoiler seems to suggest that elf-ball might be a thing again. What's our plan in this matchup? If I have a Mogg Fanatic should I pop off the first elf I see or should I wait to snipe something important like a Heritage Druid?

So the Dragon's Maze spoiler seems to suggest that elf-ball might be a thing again. What's our plan in this matchup? If I have a Mogg Fanatic should I pop off the first elf I see or should I wait to snipe something important like a Heritage Druid?

Splash white and play Rule of Law.

Private Mod Note
():

Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack

In case I didn't tell you, I don't care about your opinion I just want your facts. And not the facts that make you seem smart. I want the ones that are actual facts.